Lost Dog
by Crazy-Brave-Girl
Summary: Good and bad memories resurface as the Salazar brothers find and take care of an oddly familiar E.V.O dog, which they soon find out may either be false hope, or the real deal.
1. Prologue

**Author's note: GOOD GOD I cannot believe I went for so long without posting NADA! I'm sorry sorry sososososooooo sorry! And to make things worse, I start a whole brand new story. And that just great? I'm killing myself...**

**Anyway, quick note: Delmar is pronounced Dal-mer. Strange right? Oh, and this take place after "Night Falls."**

**I hope you enjoy my new craziness. *boink***

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><p>Rex sat at one of Cesar's desks, fiddling with a stray screwdriver. Lately, after going to Mexico to visit <em>abuela<em> (who apparently wasn't really their grandmother), Rex's brain had been shifted into overdrive. He had been asking his older brother questions nonstop for days. Cesar, luckily, was a very patient brother at that, continuously working on his own projects and answering whatever random question happened to pop into his little brother's noggin. Most likely he was relishing reliving the memories that were brought up by his questions.

"Did I ever play anything that wasn't an accordion?"

"Not really. You had a toy accordion that you absolutely loved. Nobody could get you to play anything else, no matter how hard they tried."

Rex grumbled. Accordions are stupid. "Do we have any aunts or uncles at all?"

"Mother didn't have any brothers or sisters. Father had a brother, but he died in a train wreck."

"Ouch. Did we live in a big house?"

"Sort of."

"What's 'sort of'?"

"Our house was only supposed to fit three. Even when you came around, we didn't move, so you had to sleep in my bedroom once you outgrew your crib.

"O.K." Rex had to pause with the screwdriver. He looked out into space, trying to come up with yet another question. He suddenly grew a wide smile on his face.

"Did we ever have a pet?"

Cesar paused. The thought hadn't crossed his mind since telling his _hijo_ about their parents not surviving the "Nanite Event." A pang hit his heart as he slowly lowered his wrench from the giant machine he was working on. The question soaked deeper in, and he looked down at the floor.

"Uh, bro, you okay?"

Cesar snapped out of it, facing Rex at first with a bit of a shock, then with a frown rarely seen by the happy crazy scientist. Completely ignoring Rex's concern, he replied, "Yes. We had a dog named Delmar. He was a Doberman."

"A Doberman? Cool. What was he like?" Rex couldn't tell that Cesar was growing uncomfortable. He was too excited in finding out about their pet. Cesar had turned his head back to space, away from Rex's view, his mind wandering back to what should have only been a few months ago, were it not for the five years that actually passed.

"He was…how do I explain this? Um. He was kind of a protective nanny dog for you and me."

Rex blinked. "A 'protective nanny dog'? that sounds like six in dog form!"

Cesar couldn't help but chuckle at the remark. He turned back to Rex. "Not really. You see, when I was still in college and you were eight, some burglar tried to break into our home. He got scared away when you saw him and screamed, but it left our parents scared for us, so they got Delmar to protect us in-case it ever happened again."

"That sounds more like a guard dog than a nanny dog."

The more the story went on, the more the elder brother's smile grew. "Just wait until you hear this. The reason we called him a nanny dog was because he always hung around you and me the most, like he was making sure we were safe. And whenever you had dirt on you—anywhere at all—Delmar would wash your face clean, and your arms and legs if they were exposed."

"Ew, dog drool." Rex shuddered at the thought of a big slobbery tongue licking him all over his face and arms and legs.

Cesar laughed some on hearing that. "You always hated it when Delmar tried to 'clean' you." Out of the blue, Cesar laughed hysterically, maybe remembering the days when the dog nanny licked everything clean off Rex, and there was usually nothing neither of them could do about it.

"No matter how much I pulled and tugged at Delmar, he would always come back and finish what he started," he said, fighting through the laughter. "But you still loved that dog, even if he did have you covered in drool." Rex merely glared at him just for giving him the thought of being covered in dog drool. The hysterical laughter was the second reason.

But, he had one last question, and he had a feeling that it would be the last for a while.

"What happened to him?"

Cesar's laugh quickly ceased, his head now hanging low. Rex immediately felt guilty for asking this stupid question. So far, it seemed that Cesar (and at one point, Rex), had cared about Delmar deeply enough that it would affect him to this extent. He rarely saw his brother like this. He was going to regret this.

"I…I don't know."

Yup, Rex regretted it. The quietness of Cesar's voice said it all. He was terribly upset now, even if he didn't clearly show it. Rex had somehow picked up on reading his expressions and voice patterns faster than he thought possible. Perhaps because they were brothers. Still, it didn't do any good to just read the expression at the moment.

"Sorry. I kind'a knew what—what might've…but I just opened my big mouth. I—uh…sorry."

Rex quickly left his seat and headed for the door, distraught about both troubling his brother with something that no longer is, and about coming to that same realization to himself. It was just one more piece of his past that wasn't going to be found anytime soon. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Why did he have to keep on with that? Why? He felt like banging his head on the wall at this point, which was exactly what he thought about doing as soon as he got out the door.

Right before he made it to said door, something abruptly caught his shoulder, stopping him right in his tracks. Rex was a little afraid to look at his brother's face, expecting it to be holding that seldom seen sadness. He kept his eyes aimed at the wall, so he wouldn't even think about turning around.

"_Mijo_."

That one word was practically begging him to turn around, even though he was afraid to do so. Rex, against his fear and determination, turned his head to his brother with a sad face of his own, only to be confronted with a reassuring smile from Cesar.

"It's not your fault. To tell you the truth, about three-and-a-half weeks before the nanites were released, Delmar got sick. He was one-year old when we got him from the pound and was sick then with canine influenza." Rex fully turned to Cesar, looking him with the miserable look still on his face. "He fully recovered after we took care of him. But two years later, he somehow caught it again. It turned out that he had a weak immune system, and because we found out too late that he had it, it progressed to pneumonia. He had such a high fever…"

"Was he dying?"

"Yes, he was. We were doing everything we could, but the veterinarian suggested that we put him down. Everyone was tired of seeing Delmar in such a state. I agreed with Mother and Father, but you…" Cesar swallowed before he could even get himself to finish. "You were so attached to Delmar that you refused to let them do it. Every time the subject was brought up, you'd cling to him and wouldn't let go for an hour or so."

Rex stared straight down at the ground. If this was supposed to make him feel better, it wasn't. It was making him feel even worse.

Cesar noticed this, and tried to get him to look back at him by lifting his chin, like he used to when he was small. Rex pulled out of his grip and walked on down the hallway, processing everything his brother had just explained. He kept calling himself an idiot over and over. He had an overwhelming urge to bang his head on something. Anything! Idiot. Moron. Jerk.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to bring that up," was all Rex could muster up from his current depressed state. Not knowing what else to do, Cesar went back into his lab, the door shutting behind him with a loud thud.

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><p><strong>Closest I have ever gotten to such a depressing piece. Seriously.<strong>

**By the way, what do you want to bet that he's currently working on the killer robot that comes in "Exposed"? Mwahahahahahaaaaaa!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Hey there. Bet you guys didn't think I'd update quite this fast, eh? Well, I was going to wait until the week ended, but I thought better of it. It's be better for everyone (myself included) if I just updated as soon as I finished a chapter.**

**By the way, a bunch of thanks goes to my first reviewers of this story, NiGHTfall48 and Flicker's Owner. They're pretty much the reason why I was spurred to finish this so quickly and post it up just as fast.**

**Hope you guys enjoy!**

**P.S: I suck at fight scenes!**

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><p>Evening came, and so did a call to Providence about an E.V.O attack. Typical, just when things were starting to settle down for the day too.<p>

Six, Holiday, a running late Rex, and a bunch of Providence grunts were in the briefing room listening to White about the situation. Well, Rex wasn't actually listening. He was engulfed with his thoughts about earlier, still calling himself an idiot and the other names from before.

Everything had been going fine, until that simple question about having a pet came up, which, even after the funny memories of being licked clean, eventually led to the heartbreaking reality that, even if the Nanite Event never happened, it was going to die anyway. Not to mention that he had put his brother through the painful situation of remembering it himself. For him, it hadn't been so long ago that everything was right with the world. Everything was how it was supposed to be.

Still, which was worse? Knowing that a dog you loved that much was going to die, or not even remembering that dog who loved you that much was…

"Rex, are you listening?" White Knight asked, highly annoyed to see Rex staring blankly into space.

"What? Yeah, of course I am."

"Really? Repeat back what I said."

Rex said it as innocently as he could manage. "Uh, there's an E.V.O attack happening and we're just wasting time sitting here?" He flashed a sheepish smile. If Six wasn't wearing sunglasses at the moment, anyone would be able to tell that he was glaring daggers at the kid. Holiday did the same, but not anywhere as menacing. The same could not be said of White.

"I said—the E.V.O is attacking in the capital of Nebraska, ransacking stores and eating all the food. You have to stop it before it does any serious harm, which it most likely could in a big city like that. Is that short enough for you, Rex?"

"Yeah, sure," he said rather cheerfully and leaning back in his chair. "This'll be easy."

"This is so not what I had in mind!" Rex was being swung around by the slender brown tentacles coming from the E.V.O's shoulders. This was _not_ supposed to be happening. For crying out loud! His brother was watching! He was supposed to be showing him what he could do, not get pounded by some overgrown dog thing with tentacles!

_Earlier, just before Providence arrived…_

_Rex was sitting there in the jet, waiting for them to get there already. He was so bored, it wasn't even funny. These flights sometimes took _forever_. His thoughts still weren't helping him either. He just wanted to stop thinking about that whole situation. But it just wouldn't go away. Then, he thought a little random thought. What if Cesar had lost some confidence in him after being attacked from behind by Hunter Cain? Sure, he hadn't actually spoken up about it. Rex couldn't exactly ask at the moment if he had or not though. Well, he could. But, after what happened earlier, he would rather Cesar take some time off from his pesky little bro anyway, even if that was in the job description to be a pest. He knew it was. So, he took a silent resolve: since Cesar happened to be coming along on this one (for whatever reason, no one knew), he would prove that he was more than capable of taking down anyone, and anything that stood in his way._

Rex tore down the Smack Hands he had up and put in their place the B.F.S (Big Fat Sword), cutting off the tentacles in one swift motion. The E.V.O dropped him on the hard road, but made no motion of pain at all, simply retracting the severed tentacles. They then restored back to their original state, deceivingly looking like hard, pointed pieces of bone protruding out. It had more of those, going along both sides of its body, most of them small except for two others, possibly more tentacles, on its hind legs. The spines got closer together until they met at the tip of its arrow tail. Its ears were cropped,* giving it that superior look, with nasty saber-like teeth that pointed up from the jaw, and longer than normal dew claws.*In general, it looked like the monster version of a dog.

Rex swung the B.F.S repeatedly, making the giant dog back up. It bared its pearly whites at the teen, all the while making its menacing growl. Of course it had to be a dog E.V.O on the exact same day as that awkward situation. What are the odds? With Rex around, pretty freaking high.

"Bad dog! Bad—dog!" He had to keep swinging that massive sword left and right, or otherwise it would make a lunge for him. Providence grunts were trying to help, but couldn't get a clear shot. Six stood back, quiet and stoic as usual, and waiting until his partner actually needed his help.

Rex decided to try a different tactic. He got rid of the ridiculously large sword, and made a sort of tentacle-like whip of his own. The whip looped around the dog's neck, which made it retaliate even harder, bucking like a wild horse. Being almost seven feet tall from head to toe, it had no problem dragging Rex around like a rag doll when he refused to let go. It made a run for it in the opposite direction of Providence. Six just raised an eyebrow at the kid.

"You need help?"

"Nope, I got it Six. No need to worry," Rex said calmly. Then, when he was done reassuring Six, he started to panic some.

"Sit! Stay! Heel! Stop!" He didn't have much of a choice at this point. He had to let go or get pulled along for the ride. Rex rolled a few times before he could regain his footing and build his Boogie Pack. Taking to the air, he thought he would have a better chance from there…maybe. This was humiliating; being outdone by a dog. Then, he spotted something on the ground.

On the E.V.O's rampage, it had picked up a few things along the way and just happened to leave a trail of mostly meat and dried dog food along that very road it was on.

Rex took a dive and grabbed a piece of meat. He flew up ahead and stuck it right where the E.V.O could see it. The giant dog stopped right there, and sniffed the air vigorously. It wagged its tail with the same enthusiasm, suddenly crouching in a playful manner, and jumped at Rex! The dog grabbed for the meat, but missed it by a mile when Rex pulled up.

"You want it?" He swung the meat tauntingly. "Come and get it!"

They went back the way they came, the E.V.O dog licking its chops all the while at that juicy, mouthwatering piece of meat that was just hanging there in his hands. "Get ready, its coming back to you!" He zoomed back to where they met in no time. Rex brought out a Smack Hand so that he would be able to grab it if the dog decided to run off again—not that it might have helped much. He continued to wave it right in front of it, taunting it so badly, that it took a chance and grabbed for the meat. It failed and grabbed Rex's metallic arm instead. "Ugh! Get off me!" He made the other Smack Hand and punched the E.V.O right on the snout. The dog yelped and lurched back, making its menacing growl somehow even scarier than it was before. Unfortunately, he had dropped the meat when it bit him so hard.

"Whoa, easy boy, I'm trying to give ya this treat. You're making it kind'a hard though."

Rex carefully reached over to the piece of meat, grabbed it, and tantalized the giant dog again, who was seeming to start drooling. "Ya want it? Huh, do ya? Do ya? I know ya do." He waved it back forth, the dog following the movement without a skip. Rex was about to throw it towards the containment unit that had just been lowered down to the street. But then, it suddenly started sniffing the air again, as if catching something startlingly familiar. The E.V.O moved its head up in the air. Rex tried waving the meat in hopes of grabbing its attention to it. Its ears perked, and it looked behind itself. There was nothing there at first. Then, something came down the corner off the far street. This whole area was supposed to be secured. There shouldn't be anyone there! Yet, it looked like some random bystander was whistling. It wasn't calling for the E.V.O…was it? If he was, he wasn't about to be.

The giant dog growled viciously at that supposedly random person, like it knew him all too well. It lowered its head, bared its teeth even wider, then, the strangest part of it all, it walked past Rex and stood between him and the man standing only a yard away. Without warning, it lunged! But Rex grabbed it by the tail just before it was too late. The Smack Hands was better to hold on with than the whip; he had more strength with them. Still, the dog was still pretty strong. It was about to start dragging him around again.

That E.V.O was barking at that strange person as loudly as its voice would allow it. The said person visibly got scared and retreated to the safety of the street he was on. While it was still busy trying to get to that mysterious person, Providence took this as the opportunity to hit it with a few tranquilizers. The dog stopped struggling and wavered about, trying desperately to keep its balance on all four legs. But, it was no use. Even Rex had thought it safe enough to let go of its tail. Its legs shook, and then gave up the fight against the drug, its tongue sticking out of its mouth as it fell to the ground.

"Mission accomplished," said Rex, cocky as ever after victory. He pressed a button on his comm. Link. "Hey bro, did you see that? I took down that E.V.O dog without breaking a sweat."

"What? Oh, I wasn't paying any attention."

The Providence grunts loaded the said unconscious E.V.O as Rex was in stunned silence. "What! What were you doing the entire time?"  
>"I was working on my other projects. I knew you'd be able to take down the E.V.O without much of a problem, Rex."<br>"Now you tell that after being thrown around, dragged, and bitten in the same day."

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><p><strong>Quick note: *Cropped ears are done by a procedure used to get a dog's ears to stand up. *Dew claws are fifth claws found commonly on mixed breeds (as far as I know anyway).<strong>


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's note: WOW. This took me forever to get done. I had to force myself to get it started, then the rest just came the more I thought about it. Finally, I got into the groove of it, and it only took me two hours to finish the other half. By the way, outlines: a basis I can use to help guide me, but otherwise useless to me. This is barely close to what I had wrote out. BARELY.**

**Well, I hope you enjoy this next chapter. And sorry for any grammar errors you may find. At the moment, it's 4 in the morn, and I need sleep!**

**Edit: Argh! It won't save the changes where I fixed the E. stuff back to E.V.O! WHY?**

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><p>The next day, Doc Holiday was in the tower, and had planned to examine the newest addition to the Petting Zoo; the E.V.O dog that Rex had captured. There was one problem with that plan though. She was swamped with work. She had barely found the time just to do her usual examination on Rex today. While the good doctor was all for getting in the field, she was going to have to ask for someone else to do it—like Cesar.<p>

Holiday didn't mean to be so pessimistic. She was happy that Rex finally found someone from his family, but, Cesar was…not right. Just not right. He was a little off. He was brilliant, but off. That was as nice as she could be bothered to think of him. Still, she needed some help to catch up. She couldn't ask Rex. He wouldn't know the specifics of observing a specimen without being given step-by-step directions. That would add to the work instead of taking it. Six wasn't exactly the type to do this either. He just wouldn't, for one reason or another. If he didn't have a reason, he would surely find one. Her only other option was the crazy scientist known as Rex's older brother.

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><p>"Of course I'll do it!" Cesar said over excitedly. "I haven't had a chance to study any of the E. since I got here. It'll be exciting to actually observe an E.V.O instead of reading it from the files."<p>

"I'm sure it will be, but you have to make a choice between having some agents or Rex to come with you. You're new to the Petting Zoo, and you wouldn't be able to properly defend yourself should you be attacked."

"I understand," he said unphased.

"Well if you—wait. You said you 'understand'?"

"Yes?"

Doc Holiday had expected Cesar to say something along the lines of "I can take care of myself," "I don't think I need to be worried about them," or any other crazy sentence that went against what she told him to do. Maybe she was thinking that, being related, they both shared some similar personality traits. They shared some, but not many, and this was apparently one trait that only Rex had between the two—thank God.

She cleared her throat. "Never mind. Just pick your poison and wait in the tower until one of them comes. If you need anything from me, I'll be down in the briefing room." With that, she walked out the door, leaving Cesar by himself.

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><p>Cesar had picked Rex to come with him down to the Petting Zoo. However, his little brother was taking his time, because when Cesar had asked him, he was eating lunch in the cafeteria. That was forty-five minutes ago. How long does it take one person to eat a cheese burger anyway?<p>

Having gotten impatient, he went ahead inside the Petting Zoo, despite what Holiday had said.

He trekked through the dense foliage of the Zoo, his thick clothing beginning to make him sweat underneath. It was very humid, and difficult to breath. The only thing he brought with him was a pen, a clipboard with a blank report on it, and his device that put people in a daze (and sometimes into unconsciousness). He hadn't ever tried it on E.V.O, but this would be a good place to try it out.

Cesar wasn't used to this, not at all. He kept having to take breaks every few minutes or so. He was fairly fit, but being a field scientist just wasn't him. Maybe this wasn't the best idea after all. Though, the doubt only lasted a second before he shoved it to the side and kept going. It had already been twenty minutes since he went in here, and he wished the E.V.O dog would just show up already. Then, he spotted it just beyond some bushes. He ducked behind them and began his observation at last.

The E.V.O was exploring its new environment, sniffing the ground and the air, listening to the sounds coming near and far. It stood at full height, tall and proud. Except for the spines on its back, the dog's main color was black, with brown on the underbelly and some on the paws. The jaws were massive enough to devour an entire human whole. Its legs were long and skinny, but still muscular enough to be proportionate to the E.V.O's great size. He couldn't see the gender it was, and there was no way to tell the age, but it at least was young enough to be healthy and active as it was.

The dog started walking to somewhere else as Cesar was scribbling his notes as quickly as he could, but trying to keep them legible so at least _he_ would be able to read it and type it into the computer later, assuming he would remember to do it, that is. Little did he know that he had placed himself behind an E.V.O the entire time, which was now waking up.

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><p>Rex ran down the hallway, finishing off his fries and about to stuff his mouth fuller than he'd be able to handle. He skidded to a halt at the door and punched in the code, running inside, trying to catch his breath.<p>

"Sorry bro, I got caught up with Bobo. We were just talking about…" Then, he took a moment to glance around, and noticed that no one was there. Not even his brother.

"Bro? Where are you?" Rex scanned the room, still not finding one living thing in there; just the medical equipment.

"Cesar?"

He looked out the viewing area that let everyone see over the entire zoo, and wondered, "He didn't." Knowing how incredibly stupid his older brother could be for such a smart guy, he slightly panicked that his brother did what he was thinking he did. Rex headed straight for the hallway again, and straight for the entrance to the Petting Zoo, all the while thinking that he was going to make Cesar pay—big time—and of course hoping that he didn't get eaten.

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><p>There was a low rumble behind him. He didn't immediately notice it, but it was there, and had suddenly gotten this odd feeling that there was something watching him. He turned directly behind him, and found the reason for the feeling. A giant E.V.O tree with dozens of eyes was staring dead at him. Cesar stared back at it, interested in this peculiar E.V.O, but cautious as to its thoughts about him. That tree didn't look like it had eyes when he first saw it. It must have just woken up. That sounded reasonable. What wasn't reasonable was when it decided to lift him off the ground with its branch!<p>

Cesar yelled as it shook him around in the air by the leg and slammed him to the ground. He reached for his device, but the next time the tree slammed him down, it fell out of his hand! The E.V.O did it repeatedly, slamming him more to the ground than just shaking him around now. Slam, after slam, after slam, after slam! It wouldn't stop long enough for him to think of a plan! The tree lifted him to eyelevel, seeing its victim weakening, losing consciousness. One slam left a gash on Cesar's head from hitting a root, freshly bleeding and going sideways on his forehead. At this point, he may have suffered a concussion. His vision was fading fast; he wouldn't be awake for much longer. If only he could reach his device, but it was out of reach. Cesar groaned weakly. The tree raised him up, ready to finish him off.

Vicious, agitated barking was heard extremely close by. Out of nowhere, the E.V.O tree got pounced by the monster dog! Sinking its teeth into the hardy bark, the tree let out some strange, horrible noise, and dropped it prey onto the ground out of sheer pain. The tree wrapped its branch around the attacker and pulled, but it had its teeth sunk in deep. Then it whipped at the E.V.O dog, making the dog leap away. Cesar, either fascinated with watching the fight, or too incapacitated to get up at the moment, was just sitting there on the ground while attempting to stop the bleeding with his hand. The dog placed itself in front of the wounded man, growling fiercely at the tree. The tree growled back with a low rumble, waving its branches around. Cesar had a bad feeling as to why the dog was behaving this way. Perhaps it was fighting for its right to eat him! He had to get out of there, and fast!

He slowly raised himself up with one hand, the other still holding onto his forehead. He was too wobbly to stay steady, let alone start running. Though, despite everything that had happened, despite the grim outlook, luck was on his side today.

The giant dog's ears suddenly perked. Something was coming, and fast. Really fast.

"Cesar!"

Hearing his name called, he looked in the direction of the source. It was his little brother!

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><p>Rex on his Rex Ride finally found his brother—in huge trouble! <em>He's stuck in the middle of a fight? Great, I gotta save him. Then, I'm gonna kill him. Save him, then, kill him. Save him, kill him.<em>

"Grab on!" he yelled over his engines, putting his hand out as far as he could. Cesar put out his own, and was about to grab his brother's when the E.V.O dog turned on Rex!

Rex yelled and veered away from them. He was making a U-turn and about to fight the dog, but said dog was pulled away by the tree and thrown into the part of the forest away from Rex and Cesar. Rex halted beside his brother, and helped him on behind him. They quickly sped away back to the tower, Rex chanting in his head again that he was going to kill his brother for going into the zoo without _someone_ to watch his back. He wanted to tell his brother off of how incredibly stupid he was for doing what he did, but he was more concerned with getting that head wound checked out and making sure he didn't have any broken bones, or any other potentially serious stuff.

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><p>"Cesar, you are an incredible idiot. This is something I'd expect from Rex. What were you thinking?"<p>

Holiday stood in front of Cesar, who was sitting on the MRI table, holding a gauze with a cotton pad* to his wound. Rex leaned against the table, looking annoyed about his brother also. Though, he had kept his mouth shut. Holiday was doing the job of getting on to him for Rex.

"I was just doing what you asked me to do."

"I also told you to go with backup, did I not?"

"I got impatient, so I went ahead thinking Rex would catch up later."

"What do you mean?" Holiday shot a look at Rex. He froze right there. He was in trouble now too. She arched an eyebrow, an automatic sign to anyone it was directed at that they better answer her.

"Uh," he started nervously, "I may have taken a while eat, and I may also have chatted too long with Bobo."

"So it's partially your fault that Cesar went in there alone."

"Wha—well, maybe."

"Ultimately, it's Cesar's fault for going in there alone when I told him he had to take someone with him."

"But," Cesar started.

"No. It's also your fault too, Rex."

"But," Rex tried.

"No. End of discussion." With that, Holiday shooed them out the door of her lab, and went back to her work, reminding herself never to ask Cesar to go into the Zoo for anything ever again—ever. And if she had no other choice, not to leave him by himself until someone else went with him. She couldn't believe she would have to treat Cesar like a child. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.

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><p><strong>Quick note: Cotton pads are also the things that nurses stick on top of the needles that are placed in your hand.<strong>

**I still suck at fight scenes! Forgive me!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's note: You know what's weird? For most of these that I've done so far, I seem to finish them when I'm on the brink of falling asleep over my computer. Sorry if this one is kind of rambley compared to the other chapters, but they can't all be all action. The story must go on!**

**And for those of you who have stuck with this story so far: THANK YOU FOR READING IT AT THE VERY LEAST!**

**P.S I probably missed some grammar errors, but again, I'm tired. I'll fix it later.**

**I fixed them. :)**

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><p>Somewhere far, far away from Providence HQ, an employee with a big-time office job was cringing in the face of his worst nightmare. With this bad news he was about to give his boss, he was risking his job, or a much higher price: his life. This man is no ordinary CEO of a big successful company. This man is someone to be feared by all, even outside his company. This man has the means to put an end to anyone he wants; money, power, and weapons at his disposal. This man is Adrian Collins, a man no one wants to mess with.<p>

He was in his mid-forties, but his looks were deceiving. Scaring went up on the left side of his head, disappearing into a wig of thick brown hair. It was easily fixable. He had the money to afford it. He just chose to keep it because it added to the fear and respect his employees had for him.

His face was wrinkled with the stress of his job, among other things. A cap was constantly placed in the middle of his neck, barely visible by the concealing collar of his business suit. The cap was covering a hole, a hole made due to a medical emergency that occurred years ago, and the only thing that was letting him breathe and talk.

"S-sir?" the employee tried saying.

Collins had his back to the scared person. He didn't need to turn around and show off his disfigurement to frighten him. He knew the guy was already scared for his life. He replied in an annoyed tone, "What is it? I'm a very busy person."

"Um, the E.V.O dog we had…"

Collins turned his chair to the employee now, his interest piqued, not in the good way.

"Had? Is there something I should know about?"

The hapless employee groaned in anguish. He faced the floor, unwilling to look his superior in the face. "It—it got out—during transport to the new facility."

Collins leaned in, his eyes narrowing and his features darkened. "Explain. Now."

"Well, sir, apparently the dog woke up earlier than expected, and escaped from the truck. I was nearby in one of the escorts, so I tried to call it back, really! But it growled at me and was about to attack me so I…"

"So you ran."

"Yes, sir," the employee said ashamed.

"Well," Collins started, turning his back to the coward, "No thanks to your incompetence, one of my prize specimens is at risk of being captured by Providence if we don't locate him soon."

The employee was silent, staring a hole into the back of the chair. Collins sensed this, and shifted his chair just enough to look at him from his peripheral* vision. The already frightened man flinched from the return stare.

"If I find out that Providence has my dog, I will have your head served on a silver platter with a steak and barbeque sauce on the side!"

He stood up from his chair with is arms crossed behind his back, and started for the witless man before him.

"I will make your life a living hell. I will make you wish that you were never born!"

The employee backed up as his boss moved closer, his hands searching for the exit behind him.

"I will make sure that my pets eat you for breakfast, spit you out, and then eat you all over again!"

The employee found the door knob jabbing at his back. "C-c-can't you just find another prize E.V.O like him? I hear the best ones are in—."

"Do you see this scar on the side of my head?" He gestured to it. The employee nodded his head slowly.

"Do you know how I got it?" He shook his head no.

"I got it because when I want the best ones., I want to be there to see for myself if it's worthy of being caught. The last prize E.V.O that I captured did _this_ to me!"

Collins removed the wig and exposed the long, pale scar, which extended nearly all the way to the other side. The employee trembled, shocked at the sight of the scar and frightened by his boss's anger still.

"It nearly killed me, and before that E.V.O, another punctured my wind pipe." He pointed to the cap on his neck.

"Since then, I've done all my E.V.O collecting to a minimum, being that there are plenty of them in my collection now. But that's beside the point. Do you want to find out what it's like to be disfigured, to be so close to Death's Door? _Do you!"_ The employee vigorously shook his head.

"Then find that dog! Do I make myself clear?"

The poor man shook his head, and ran out the door as fast as he could open it. Collins, finished with his rant, replaced his wig and went back to his desk, angry but satisfied all at once, and resumed with his work.

* * *

><p>"You can't be serious. Can't you just build another one? And do you <em>not<em> remember what just happened to you yesterday?" Rex was trying to discourage his brother from retrieving his gadget that he had just remembered losing. He was failing miserably. The younger brother was following Cesar to the zoo as they spoke.

"I don't want to build another one until I know for sure that it's lost or damaged beyond repair," Cesar said, firm in his resolve to do just that.

"But Holiday—"

"Doctor Holiday never said that I couldn't go back into the zoo. She was just mad at me for going in there without someone else."

"You don't have anyone with you now!"

"What do you mean? I thought you were coming with me. Isn't that way you've been following me?"

"No! I—you—Augh! Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"I could ask you the same question. I guess we just get it from our mother."

Rex couldn't take it anymore. He slapped his face, reluctantly accepting defeat and deciding to accompany him anyway. There was no way he could stop him. He was too thickheaded. Going back to the zoo for some device that he could just as easily make another one of was—and he already said this before—downright stupid for a genius. He didn't even know if Holiday would be angry about Cesar going back to the zoo so soon after the incident, or could care less about it. He was hoping badly that it would be the latter though.

He found himself staring at the dressing wrapped around Cesar's head. For some reason, he hadn't been able to take his eyes off it the entire time. He was angry at his elder brother for going in the zoo by himself. But, he was also angry at himself for having taking his own sweet time. It _was_ his fault. The more he thought about it, the more he knew it was his fault, and no one else's. It was all _his_ fault.

Even as they navigated the endless white corridors, that dressing was still nagging at him. More precisely, something mental was nagging him; something tugging at him from the inside, like he should be remembering something at the moment. Rex perked up. Could it be some long lost memory trying to come out? Could it be just ordinary guilt? Whatever the reason, Rex was now determined that nothing would harm his brother ever again as long as he could help it. This time, he would do what he should have been doing yesterday, and he was going to need his attention to keep an eye on his supposedly older brother, who acted sometimes like a little kid.

* * *

><p>They made it to the zoo at last. Rex punched a code in and stepped inside, Cesar following behind. He generated his Rex Ride, let his brother get on, and they went through the dense jungle looking for one small device.<p>

Cesar pointed in the general direction of where he had traveled, but even he didn't really remember where he had been when the E.V.O, whom Rex told him was named Blinky, had attacked him, due to the head injury he received. Rex knew where Blinky was, and went straight there. There was only one problem: when they got there, the device was nowhere to be found. There was no sign of it at all, not even shrapnel if had been been stepped on. When Cesar thought he remembered maybe a little of where it might've been tossed, they got off the Rex Ride and searched the area. They didn't find anything there, and they combed the entire place, Rex having to warn Cesar several times to stay far away from Blinky, and threatening that tree that he'd punch its eyes out if it attacked them.

Time was moving too slowly for some reason, because by the fifth or sixth time of looking over the same places, Rex was getting irritated, and had even suggested that they give it up. Cesar wasn't ready to quit though, so they kept looking. And then, after over an hour-and-a-half of searching for that annoyingly small gadget, Rex found it It. It was in the worst place it could have been in; the mouth of the E.V.O dog.

It was staring at him blankly, and he at it, his mouth agape. But he managed to say, "Found it."

"Really? Where?" Cesar quickly turned around, only to be shocked just as much as Rex. His mind raced as he tried to figure out what to do. Hopefully, even though he never got the chance to observe it properly, the E.V.O would act as if it was a normal dog. Hopefully.

"Don't—move. Dogs respond to body language. One wrong move and it will attack."

"So what am I supposed to do?" he asked in a panicky voice.

"Back away, slowly. And don't make eye contact with it."

"Too late for that."

"Just back up, now!"

Rex complied. He backed up, but unfortunately he tripped over one of the many tree roots covering the ground. He fell back, and the E.V.O went to him.

"Rex! Get up!" Before he could do that, the dog pressed its snout against Cesar's little brother and sniffed him, its wet nose tickling him and making him laugh.

"Get off! Ge—ge—t—off—m—me! Tha—that—tickles!"

Cesar wasn't sure to relax, or to worry some more. He had no idea how E.V.O dogs behaved toward humans, but he wasn't about to wait and find out.

"What are you waiting for? Move!"

Rex was confused at Cesar's behavior. "Why? I think it's finally warming up to me."

"After taking care of a dog for two years, I know a thing or two about them. But I know _nothing_ about E.V.O dogs!"

"Really?"

"Really! Now please move!"

"Alright, alright. You don't have to blow—" Rex got distracted by the wildly moving branches coming from Blinky. He had a bad feeling that all of Cesar's yelling had unnerved the tree. Cesar saw it too, and walked away from it surprisingly calm; nervous, but calm. It left the people alone. The dog, however, was in for some major payback.

Blinky seized its neck, receiving a growl at first. But as the monstrosity tree tightened its grip, the dog began yelping. It tried getting free, but the tree was just too strong. Even though the dog had just dropped the gadget that they had been looking for, the brothers just stared in shock at the scene taking place.

"Hey, let go of him, Blinky!"

When it refused to listen, Rex took action and brought out his B.F.S. He converted it to a buzzsaw and sliced the branch in two, the other end still wrapped around the dog's neck. With Blinky letting out a screech, the said dog went behind Rex, its head and ears lowered.

"Next time you'll listen, won't ya?" The tree closed its eyes trying to hide itself. It was doing a fairly good job except for the odd welts on the bark that happened to be its eyelids. Rex disabled the B.F.S and got his arm back to normal, and turned to the dog.

Despite his earlier caution, Cesar approached the E.V.O close enough to see how tightly wound the branch was. "We need to get that branch off him." He turned to Rex. "Do you think you can pry it open with your Smack Hands?"

"Pry it open? Can't it just be unwrapped?"

"The limb has been severed from the host. Because of this, it seems to have turned into a normal branch. You either have to force it open or carefully break it without hurting the E.V.O."

"Great, like this thing is going to stay still long enough for me to do that. Why is it never easy?"

Rex formed his Smack hands, but on doing so, the dog whimpered and backed away.

"Wait, wait! I'm trying to help you!"

He made the mistake of backing it into a (normal) tree. As Rex got closer, the E.V.O suddenly bit the hand part of his build.

"Hey!" Luckily, Rex couldn't feel it, "Let go—whoa!" Unfortunately, it tossed him to the side.

Cesar slowly approached the E.V.O, all the while it snarling at him. Rex watched in shocked horror. "Are you crazy? No wait, I already know the answer to that."

"It's okay. You and me practically raised Delmar, so I know how to gain a dog's trust." He came close to its leg, and the dog shifted away some. But Cesar came closer still.

"I don't see how that's gonna help. You said before that you didn't know anything about E.V.O dogs."

He put a hand to the dog's leg and stroked it. It was coarse and gritty from dirt and mud, like it hadn't had a bath in—never. A moment later and the dog calmed down. It even lowered its head to Cesar's level. Then he lightly patted its head in reassurance.

"It's okay, my _mijo _really is trying to help," he motioned for Rex, "Come here. He should let you take it off now."

Rex was hesitant, but he came forward anyway. His builds having been still up the entire time, he didn't have to move in as close as Cesar to reach the branch. A small metal finger slipped between gaps in the wood and began to crush it. Seeing as the bark really had become normal, there was no way to unwrap it. All the while, the dog fidgeted nervously as Rex crushed the branch little by little all the way around. Cesar somehow kept it calm by scratching its ear. He noticed that it was very similar to a Doberman physically. It even looked like the brown patches of fur where almost exactly as Delmar's…

He shoved it out of his head. There was no possible way that this could be their dog standing in front of them as an E.V.O. Delmar never had a long tail. His had been stubbed. Though, there would be a possibility that the mutation caused by the nanites would make it grow a new tail. But, even if it had been five years since anyone had seen Delmar, he would never attack him and Rex—unless the mutation was so severe that it impaired his memory. This would no doubt make him aggressive towards everyone and everything that he came into contact with. The E.V.O dog in front of him had just slung his little brother to one side and threatened himself. Yet, it allowed him to pet it, and it was allowing Rex to remove the branch.

It wasn't Delmar. There was no possibility whatsoever that it was Delmar. So why was he still thinking about it?

"Cesar? Bro? Hey!"

"Oh, what?" Cesar had drifted off into his thoughts and had been completely oblivious that his brother was done removing the branch, and had removed his Smack Hands.

"All done," Rex came forward, fairly confident that it wouldn't bite him, and patted the dog's leg. "Now maybe you'll stay away from Blinky."

The dog suddenly licked him in one swoop from top to bottom in disgusting slobber trying to express its gratitude.

"Gross! Ew, ew, ew, ew." The dog just wagged its tail and would have licked him again if it wasn't for Rex's protests. With drool dripping off his chin, he noticed Cesar was trying to restrain himself from laughing.

"You think this is so funny? Come on," he said, opening his arms wide with a huge smirk on his face, "Give me a nice, big hug."

"Oh no, I don't think so."

"Just one, I promise." He walked forward towards Cesar, and the elder brother walked backwards.

"Stay away from me, _baba nino_*."

Rex ran up to him and, before Cesar knew it, the little brother was hugging him tight and simultaneously covering him in dog drool.

"_Que_ _asco*_! _Bajas* Bajas!_"

His younger brother wouldn't let go until he was sure there was a decent amount of slobber on the other. Rex was admiring the wet drool now on Cesar's jacket. He fell back and laughed maniacally. His brother was peeved. There would be payback later.

Afterwards, they noticed that the E.V.O dog had disappeared into the dense jungle. Cesar grabbed his device, and they headed back out of the zoo, taking their time instead of using the Rex Ride to talk about what just happened. Rex had asked, "This isn't the last time we're gonna run into that dog, is it?"

"Don't know. Only time will tell."

* * *

><p><strong>Quick note: Baba nino* means "drool boy," Que asco* means "Yuck," and Bajas* means "(you) get off." Thank you Bat-dove for correcting me! I feel like I'm missing one though.<strong>

**Oh yes, I was! Peripheral vision* is our natural ability to see to the sides when we look straight ahead.**


End file.
